Billy Graham: The holy spirit is already at work in your soul

Q: I know something is missing in my spiritual life, and from what I’ve heard some of my friends say, I think it must be the Holy Spirit. What do I have to do to get the Holy Spirit? — Mrs. D.W.

A: If you have sincerely committed your life to Jesus Christ, then He has already come to live within you by His Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple (or dwelling place) and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).

In fact, the Holy Spirit has already been at work in your life — even if you weren’t aware of Him. Before you ever confessed your sins and put your faith in Christ, the Spirit convicted you of your sins and convinced you of the truth of the Gospel. In addition, the Spirit drew you to Christ, and He even gave you a new heart and a new life as you committed your life to Jesus. Jesus said, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.... Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3: 3,6).

But what may be missing in your life is the power of the Spirit — that is, His control over your life. God wants to change us from within and make us more like Christ. But we can’t do that on our own; it only happens as we allow the Holy Spirit to control our minds and wills.

Turn your life over to God and ask Him to change you from within by His Spirit. Then make the Bible your constant companion and guide every day. The Holy Spirit gave the Bible to us, and the Holy Spirit will use it to change us.

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Q: I was always taught that at the end of each day we ought to ask God to forgive us for any sins we’ve committed during that day. But sometimes I can’t think of anything I’ve done wrong or that I ought to confess. Am I overlooking something? — E.Y.

A: What you were taught about asking God to forgive you at the end of each day is both commendable and wise (and it’s a practice I’ve always tried to follow in my own life).

Why is this a good habit? One reason is because if we don’t stop to think about our sins, we’ll probably overlook them — and if we do that, we’ll keep on doing them. Just as our hands grow calloused and insensitive if we keep rubbing them against something hard, so our hearts can become calloused and hardened to our sins when we don’t face them and seek God’s forgiveness. And if we never ask for His forgiveness, we’ll also never ask Him to help us overcome them.

But the main reason we need to deal with our sins as soon as possible is because sin cuts off fellowship with God. If we have given our lives to Jesus, we are still members of His family if we sin — but our fellowship with Him is damaged, and we no longer are close to Him.

What are you overlooking? You’re overlooking your own sins — even if you aren’t aware of them.

The Bible says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

Remember: We sin not only by what we do, but also by what we fail to do — including what goes on in our minds.